Marshalling area control assemblies



July 17, 1956 v M. FILL ET AL MARSHALLING AREA CONTROL ASSEMBLIES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 16.

INVENTORS R E V JM S t Y F M O R R TH T E O I T MJ A W Y B July 17, 1956 M. FILL ET AL 2,754,767

MARSHALLING AREA CONTROL ASSEMBLIES Filed Nov. 16. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PILOT 48 VALVE F PULLING v CYLINDER L5] 7 n k519i MUFFLER SUDE 3M2 VALVE 66 F|G.5

if k 60 SLIDE 66 VA INVENTORS. f METRO FILL,

JOHN E. GRAVER rm 6 Heir E 2,754,767 MARSHALLING AREA CONTROL ASSEMBLIES Metro Fill and John E. Graver, Winnipeg, Ma nitba,

I .lt tert flu 17, 6

Figure 2 is a front end view of our selector-and-carrier unit per se taken substantially along the line 2--2 of Figure ,l but with the auxiliary rail deleted for clarity.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the stationary cylinder 5 and plunger component per se.

Canada, assignors to Canada Packers Limited, St.;Boniface, Manitoba, Canada Application November 16, 1951, Serial No. 256,727 5 Claims. (Cl. 104-91) Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in marshalling area control assemblies, particularly to control assemblies for use in the packinghouse industry in conjunction with an overhead conveyor system of cattle processlng, an object of our invention being to provide a device of the character herewithin described whereby loaded shackles or the like may be delivered progressively from a temporary storage or marshalling portion of a rail to a moving conveyor, the rate of delivery being In other words, the i ling or storage area is essential to provide and maintain I an adequate supply of cattle for the moving conveyor.

Yet another object of our invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described in which the rate of delivery of loaded shackles to they major conveyor is readily variable without changing the speed of the v conveyor.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is automatic in action inasmuch as the loaded shackles on the marshalling portion of the rail do not have to be positioned by an operator as the unit automatically reverses upon striking the foremost of said shackles thereby proceeding to deliver same to the main conveyor.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which provides an easy method whereby temporary gaps or dead areas may be scheduled upon the major conveyor system as desired. v r

A further object of our invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described the use of which permits a backlog of cattle to be built up awaiting delivery to the main conveyor, said backlog being automatically eliminated by the device without need for constant attention by an operator.

Yet another object of our invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is automatic in action, relatively economical in construction, and otherwise, well suited for the purpose for which it is designed.

With the foregoing objects in view, and such other Figure 4 is a side elevation of the pivoted cylinder and plunger component per se.

Figure 5 is a schematic plan view of our device showing the inter-connecting conduits and the flow of air during one operation.

Figure 6 is also a schematic view of our device show ing the conduits with the flow of air in the opposite direction.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

Although this device has been invented primarily for use upon a beef cattle processing system, nevertheless, it will be appreciated that it could readily be adapted for use in other forms of conveyorfeeding.

, When processing beef cattle upon an overhead conveyor system, it will be appreciated that due to the excessive weight of the cattle among other things, it is extremely diflicult to hoist the individual carcasses upon the overhead rail and feed same to the moving conveyor in a steady sequence at a sufiicient speed to maintain the conveyor full at all times.

The present device therefore provides means for automatically delivering cattle already loaded upon individual shackles, to the main conveyor, the rate of feed to the main conveyor being controlled entirely by the speed of said conveyor thereby permitting a backlog of shacklehung carcasses to be built up and held until desired, in a general marshalling area.

Proceeding now to describe our invention in detail, reference should be made first to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings in which we have illustrated our invention in plan view in association with one end of a moving conveyor collectively designated 1.

. This conveyor includes a chain 2 extending around a pulley 3 and then rotatintg in the direction of the arrow 4, it being understood that said pulley and chain is motivated by a source of power (not illustrated). Depending from the chain 2 at spaced intervals therealo'ng, is a plurality of fingers '5 which are adapted to engage behind shackles 6. These shackles, more clearly illustrated in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings, include rollers 7 by which the shackles are supported upon a rail 8 situated parallel and below the chain 2. From these shackles 6, a carcass (not illustrated) may be suspended by means of a chain 9.

' From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the conveyor chain 2 together with the fingers 5 cause the shackles 6 and the carcass hung thereupon, to be moved along the rail 8 at a speed equal to that of the conveyor. 'It is the main object of this invention therefore to feed these loaded shackles 6 on to the beginning of the conveyor 1 so that the cattle dependent from the shackles may be processed successively along the conveyor. The aforementioned rail 8 extends rearwardly from the conveyor end thus forming a marshalling portion 10 onto which a succession of loaded shackles 11 may be fed manually direct from the killing area (not illustrated).

In order ot accomplish the aforementioned feeding of the shackles on to the conveyor, we have provided a selector-and-carrier unit collectively designated 12 mounted for reciprocation upon a subrail 13 which may be suspended by means of brackets 14 from a suitable support (not illustrated) Means to move the unit 12 upon the rail 13 between limits defined by the stop 15 and the right hand bracket 14 are provided and take the form of an air cylinder 16 having a reciprocating plunger 17 therein, said plunger being connected to one side of the unit 12 by means of a length of chain 18. The operation of this particular portion of the invention will be described fully hereinafter but it should be pointed out at this stage that the cylinder 16 is adapted to be operated by air pressure leftwardly with relation to Figure 1 to move the unit 12 towards the stop 15. For the purpose of this specification the direction leftwardly with relation to Figure 1 is defined as forwardly and the opposite direction, rearwardly.

In order to move the unit 12 rearwardly or to the right with relation to Figure l, we have provided a cable 19 which extends from the opposite side of the unit 12, around a sheave 20, and then around a further sheave 21 to be connected to a weight 22 running vertically within a shielding tube 23. In other words, air pressure moves the plunger 17 to the left with relation to Figure l and, upon release of said air pressure, the weight 22 causes the unit to move to the right.

The aforementioned selector-and-carrier unit 12 comprises a substantially rectangular base plate 24 having an integral extension 25 to one side thereof. Tubular bearings 26 are secured to the under side of this base plate and engage around the aforementioned subrail 13 thus permitting sliding movement of the unit thereupon. A pair of cylinder-and-plunger components 27 and 28 are mounted upon the base plate 24, component 27 being shown in more detail in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.

This component 27 includes a cylinder 29 having a plunger 30 reciprocal therewithin, the outboard end 31 of said plunger being supported by an outrigger bearing 32 situated within a hollow rectangular framework 33 to one end 33 of which is mounted the cylinder 20. It will be observed from Figure 3 that the component 27 is mounted to the base plate 24 by means of this rectangular frame 33 and is therefore what we define as a stationary component.

The component 28 by contrast although including a cylinder 34 and a plunger 35 together with an open rectangular frame 36 is pivotally mounted to the base plate for limited rocking movement in a horizontal plane. This pivotal mounting is through the agency of a pivot 37 passing through one side of the frame 36 and engaging the portion 25 of the base plate 24.

From the foregoing and upon reference to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings, it will be seen that the unit includes a pair of cylinder-and-plunger components 27 and 28 mounted substantially in a horizontal plane with the plungers 30 and 35 of the components extendable towards the aforementioned rail 10, the sub-rail 13 being so positioned that the plungers pass beneath the rail 10 as clearly shown in Figure 2.

Bolted to the upper side of the rectangular frame 36, is a strip 38 extending rearwardly over the cylinder 34 and including two upwardly extending lugs 39 and 40 adjacent one end thereof. Bolted to the upper side of the frame 33 of the component 27 is a further strip 41 also extending rearwardly and mounted upon this latter strip is three-way pilot valve 42. This pilot valve is of conventional design and is connected via conduits as will hereinafter be described to a source of air pressure and it is to be understood that actuation of this pilot valve merely connects the source of air pressure to a slide valve 52 (hereinafter to be described) momentarily thus actuating said slide valve.

The lugs 39 upon strip 38 which is mounted upon the pivoted component 28, carries an actuating plunger 42' which is capable of striking a finger 43 extending from the side of the valve 42. From the foregoing it Will be appreciated that if the rear portion of the component 28 is pivoted or rocked towards the stationary component 27, then the finger 43 will be depressed thus opening pilot valve 42.

The rocking movement of component 28 is limited at the forward end thereof by means of an encircling collar 44 and is guided at the rear end by a spring-loaded guide 45 which passes freely through the lug 40 on the strip 38. In this connection, it will be appreciated that the spring 46 reacts between the lug 40 and a projection 47 secured to the strip 41.

Reference to Figure 1 will show a further three way normally open pilot valve 48 situated adjacent the perimeter of the pulley 3 of the conveyor 1, this pilot valve also being connected via conduits as will hereinafter be described to the source of air power and the aforesaid slide valve 52.

This pilot valve is adapted to be tripped by a striking finger 49 secured to and extending from the boss 50 of the pulley 3, the extremity of said finger striking an actuating roller 51 upon the pilot valve thus momentarily causing connection between the two conduits as will hereinafter be described.

Reference should now be made to Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings which are schematic in representation. In both of these views the conduit connection between the various components of the assembly are shown and it will be appreciated that these conduits will be flexible Where necessary. It will also be observed that some of the conduits are shown in heavy lines and others, in fine lines, and this is to clarify the flow of air under the two conditions hereinafter to be described.

In order to clarify the function of the assembly, the slide valve 52 will be described briefly although same is conventional. This slide valve includes a casing 53 having a shuttle 54 movable therein. With the shuttle at one end of the casing 52 various ports of the slide valve are connected as illustrated by dotted lines in Figure 5 and when the shuttle is at the opposite end as in Figure 6, the ports are interconnected as shown by a dotted line in that figure.

For the sequential recitation of the function of the assembly, it is assumed that the selector-and-carrier unit 12 is at the forward or left hand end of the sub-rail 13 against the stop 15. In this position, the plunger 35 of the component 28 is retracted, and the plunger 36 of the component 27 is extended as illustrated in Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, in order that the unit 12 is maintained stationary against stop 15, the plunger 17 of the cylinder 16 is also at the left hand end of the cylinder as also shown in Figure 5.

Under these conditions, the assembly is inoperative until the striking finger 49 trips the pilot valve situated adjacent to the conveyor pulley 3 and it is the tripping of this pilot valve which provides means to control the movement of the unit in the rearward or right-handed direction along the sub-rail.

It will be observed that a conduit 55 carries the main air supply and is routed to one side of the pilot valve 48, entering same at 56. The other side of the pilot valve 48 is connected by means of a conduit 57 to the slide valve 52, said conduit being so connected to operate the shuttle 54 in the direction of arrow 58 or leftwardly with relation to Figure 5. The tripping of pilot valve 48 by finger 49 causes a momentary connection of conduits 55 and 57 thus permitting a surge of air to flow through conduit 57 and operate the shuttle towards the left of the casing. This causes communication between ports 59, 59', and 60, 60 as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 5. The connection between ports 59 and 59' in the slide valve causes air to flow from the supply line 55, along conduit 61 which divides at 62, branch 61 leading to the front end of component 27 and branch 61" leading to the rear of component 28 thus driving plunger 30 inwardly or retracting same and plunger 35 outwardly or extending same. During this movement, air is exhausted from component 27 through a conduit 62' and from component 28 via a conduit 62", both of these conduits joining in a common conduit 62 which is routed to port 60 on the slide valve, out of port 60 and through a muflier 63 to be voided to the atmosphere. Also air 5 in advance of shuttle 54 is exhausted through line 65 to pilot valve 42 which is normally open to atmosphere.

It will also be seen that the inter-connection of ports 60 and 60' cause release of air pressure in conduit 64 which extends to cylinder 16 thus permitting the air to void from this cylinder. This permits the weight 22 to overcome the air pressure within the cylinder 16 thus moving the carrier-and-selector unit 12 to the right or rearwardly along rail 13 with plunger 35 extended and plunger 30 retracted.

The unit 12 moves to the right until the extended plunger 35 strikes the front side of the first of the awaiting shackles 11 stored upon the marshalling portion of the rail 8, it being appreciated that the retracted plunger 30 is retracted sufficiently to pass the shackle.

Upon striking the forward portion of the shackle 11 the inertia of the latter causes the component 28 to rock upon pivot 37 thus actuating pilot valve 42 situated upon the stationary component 27.

This causes a momentary air connection between conduit 55, a branch 55' of which communicates with said pilot valve 42, and a further conduit 65 which extends between pilot valve 42 and the other side of shuttle 54 Within the slide .valve 52 thus causing said shuttle to move rightwardly with relation to Figures 5 and 6 as illustrated in Figure 6, by the arrow 58'. In this sequence air in advance of the shuttle is exhausted along line 57 to pilot valve 48 which is also normally open to atmosphere.

This changes the connection between the ports of the slide valve and connects port 59 with another port 66 and also connects port 59 with port 60. Following through the flow diagram in Figure 6, it will be seen therefore that main air supply conduit 55 is now connected to conduit 64 and also to conduit 62 which now becomes a pressure conduit dividing into 62' and 62" thus reversing the positions of plungers 35 and 30, retracting the former and extending the latter. In this connection it will be appreciated that conduits 61 and 61" now become exhausting conduits and extend through the slide valve to the muffler 63 exhausting to atmosphere.

Referring back for the moment to Figures 1 and 2. It will be seen that this reversal of plungers causes plunger 30 to extend behind the shackle 11 thus engaging same, as it were, preparatory to moving the shackle and the carcass depending therefrom forwardly along the rail 8.

Reverting to Figure 6, it will be seen that the air supply conduit 55 is also connected to conduit 64 which, in turn, communicates with cylinder 16, therefore, plunger 17 will be moved leftwardly thus drawing the selectorand-carrier unit 12 together with the engaged shackle 11 towards the conveyor chain 2. The shackle 11 is moved leftwardly until the unit 12 engages the stop and is thus in position to be picked up by the finger following finger 5 on the chain 2 and thus be carried along by the conveyor.

The carrier-and-selector unit 12 therefore remains against stops 15 until the striking finger 49 again trips valve 48 whereupon the sequence is repeated. In this connection it will be appreciated that the unit 12 will move to the right until such time as the extended plunger 35 strikes a shackle irrespective of the position of this shackle along the marshalling portion 10 of the rail 8.

In conclusion, we desire to describe additional means which we have provided to permit a greater degree of control over the feeding characteristics of our device. Reference should be made to Figures 1 and 5 which show a cam 67 secured to a sprocket 68 around which extends a chain 69 extending to a further sprocket 70 concentrically secured to the aforementioned conveyor sprocket 3.

A pilot valve and plunger 71 is situated adjacent this cam 67 with the plunger 72 engaging the riser portion 73 of said cam. Reference to Figure 5, will show the conduit connection to this valve 71, the conduit 74 and 74 being provided with stop-cocks 75 which, in conjunction with a stop-cock 76 controls the flow of air through this section of the assembly. In other words, if stop-cocks 75 are closed and stop-cock 76 is open, then the cam and valve portion are inoperative. -How ever, if stop-cock 76 is closed and stop-cocks 75 are open, then the plunger 72 riding on the profie 73 of the cam maintains the connection between conduits 74 and 74 closed irrespective of the striking of the finger 49 upon pilot valve 48. By suitable selection of the length of the profile 73, and by suitable gear relationship between sprockets 68 and 70, our assembly can be adjusted to operate, for example, once in every four engagements of the finger 49 with the pilot valve 48. Of course, it will be appreciated that when the recess portion 74 of the profile reaches the plunger 72, then this permitsair connection between conduits 74 and 74 thus permitting the finger 49 to operate valve 48 and cause the sequence to commence.

Finally, it will be observed that the selector-and-carrier until 12 is mounted by the bearings 26 upon the sub-rail 13, which is of circular cross-sectional configuration and it will be appreciated that means should be provided to maintain the unit 12 in the horizontal plane. In other words, means should be provided to prevent unit 12 from swinging around the rail 13 due to unbalancing occurring when the unit is operated. In this connection, we have provided an auxiliary rail 75 situated parallel to the sub-rail 13, the plungers 30 and 35 resting upon this rail as clearly illustrated in Figures 1, 3 and 4.

Since various modifications can be made in our invention as hereinabove described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. 7

What we claim as our invention is: Y

1. An assembly, adapted to be actuated by a source of fluid power, for controlling the pick-up characteristics of a moving conveyor, said conveyor including a plurality of fingers situated in spaced relationship therealong, and shackles slidable by said fingers along a rail in proximity to said conveyor; said assembly comprising in combination a selector-and-carrier unit, a stationary sub-rail upon which said unit is slidably supported between limits, means to move said unit selectively along said sub-rail in order to pick-up and deliver to said conveyor, one of said shackles, said unit including a pair of fluid-operated cylinder-and-plunger components, means actuated by said conveyor to control said movement in one direction, means coacting between said components and said shackles to control said movement in the opposite direction, and further means associated with said conveyor to vary selectively the rate of pick-up of said conveyor, said means including a 3-way normally open pilot valve and plunger secured adjacent one end of said conveyor, a cam rotated by said conveyor adapted to actuate said plunger, said pilot valve and plunger adapted to control said means to move said unit along said sub rail.

2. An assembly, adapted to be actuated by a source of fluid power, for controlling the pick-up characteristics of a moving conveyor, said conveyor including a chain extending around pulleys and having a plurality of fingers or the like extending therefrom in spaced relationship, and shackles slidable by said fingers along a parallel rail in proximity to said conveyor chain; said assembly comprising in combination a selector-and-carrier unit, a subrail upon which said unit is mounted for reciprocating travel between limits, an auxiliary outboard-supporting rail parallel to and substantially in the same plane as said sub-rail, said auxiliary rail maintaining said unit in the desired plane, cylinder and piston means to move said unit selectively along said sub-rail, three way normally open pilot valve means actuated by said conveyor pulleys to actuate said selector-and-carrier unit and to control the movement of same in one direction along said sub-rail, and further three way normally open pilot valve means actuated by said selector-and-carrier unit to reverse the actuation of said selector-and-carrier unit and to control the movement of same in the opposite direction along said sub-rail.

3. An assembly, adapted to be actuated by a source of fluid power, for controlling the pick-up characteristics of a moving conveyor, said conveyor including a plurality of fingers or the like situated in spaced relationship therealong, and shackles slidable by said fingers along a rail in proximity to said conveyor; said assembly comprising in combination a selector-and-carrier unit, a stationary subrail upon which said unit is slidably supported between limits, means to move said unit selectively along said sub-rail in order to pick-up and deliver to said conveyor, one of said shackles, said unit including a base plate, bearings secured to the underside of said plate and engageable around said sub-rail to permit said unit to reciprocate thereupon, a stationary cylinder and plunger component supported by said base plate, a further cylinder and plunger component pivotally supported upon said base plate for limited rocking movement in a horizontal plane, said components lying in the same plane, a loose link embracing the forward ends of said components for restraining the relative movement therebetween, means on said conveyor rail to rock said component to one position, and means coacting between said component to maintain said movable component in the opposite position a pilot valve on said stationary component, lever and plunger means coacting between said valve and the other of said components so that said valve is closed when said component is rocked by said means on said conveyor rail, said valve being connected via conduits to a source of fluid power, said components also being connected to said source of fluid power, the closing of said valve controlling the connection between said source of power and said components.

4. An assembly, adapted to be actuated by a source of fluid power, for controlling the pick-up characteristics of a moving conveyor, said conveyor including a plurality of fingers or the like situated in spaced relationship therealong, and shackles slidable by said fingers along a rail in proximity to said conveyor; said assembly comprising in combination a selector-and-carrier unit, a stationary sub-rail upon which said unit is slidably supported between limits, means to move said unit slectively along said sub-rail in order to pick-up and deliver to said conveyor one of said shackles, said unit including a pair of fluid-operated cylinder-and-plunger components, means actuated by said conveyor to control said movement in one direction, and means coacting between said components and said shackles to control said movement in the opposite direction, said means actuated by said conveyor to control said movement in the one direction including a pilot valve situated adjacent one end or" said conveyor, a striking finger secured to and rotatable by the pulley of said conveyor, said finger being adapted to trip said pilot valve once in every revolution of said pulley; a fluid operated slide valve connected by conduits to said pair of fluid operated cylinder-and-plunger components and to said first mentioned means, a conduit extending between said pilot valve and said source of fluid power, and a further conduit extending from the other side of said pilot valve to said slide valve, said pilot valve, when tripped, causing a momentary connection between said source of fluid power and said slide valve thereby operating the latter in one direction, said movement of said slide valve causing connection between said source of fluid power and said components whereby the rearward plunger is retracted and the forward plunger extended.

5. The device according to claim 4 in which said means to move said unit selectively along said sub-rail includes an air cylinder parallel with and adjacent one end of said sub-rail, a flexible link between said cylinder and one side of said unit, and a weight-actuated flexible link extending from the other side of said unit and around sheaves situated adjacent the other end of said sub-rail.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,554,765 Shaffer Sept. 22, 1925 1,556,161 Ripberger Oct. 6, 1925 1,865,788 Raymond July 5, 1932 1,917,836 Haddlesay July 11, 1933 

